VOI World/ Desk
India today rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) concerning disputes under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), a 1960 agreement regulating shared river resources with Pakistan. The PCA had ruled that India must allow unrestricted flow of key Western rivers—Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—to Pakistan, affirming its competence over hydropower design guidelines. Pakistan welcomed the ruling, viewing it as validation of its stance.
New Delhi, however, has consistently denied the PCA’s authority. It prefers the treaty’s neutral expert mechanism for dispute resolution and rejected the idea of concurrent arbitration. India maintains it never consented to the PCA’s involvement and regards such proceedings as invalid.
The dispute centers on India’s Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects in Jammu and Kashmir, which Pakistan says jeopardize downstream water flow. India suspended the IWT in April following a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and continues to withhold obligations until Pakistan ends what it calls cross-border terrorism.
As tensions escalate, with Pakistan urging treaty revival and threats lingering over water security, the clash underscores deepening bilateral friction over both water management and geopolitical trust.
